Давай немного помолчим.

Let’s be quiet for a little while.

Breakdown of Давай немного помолчим.

• немного: a little
• давай: let's
• помолчать: to be quiet

Questions & Answers about Давай немного помолчим.

Why is давай used here? Does it literally mean give?

By itself, давай is the imperative of давать and can literally mean give or come on, do it depending on context. But in this sentence, it is part of a very common conversational pattern:

давай + 1st person plural verb = let’s ...

So Давай немного помолчим means something like Let’s be quiet for a little while.

This use of давай is informal and very common in speech.

Why is помолчим in the we form if I am talking to just one person?

Because Russian, like English, often uses an inclusive we for suggestions.

Compare:

• Let’s sit down
• Let’s wait
• Let’s be quiet for a bit

You are still speaking to one person, but the idea is you and I will do this together. That is why Russian uses the 1st person plural form:

• помолчим = we will be silent / let’s be silent

So even when talking to one person, the we form is normal after давай.

Why is помолчим not an imperative form?